


Promise

by IgnisEtGlacies13



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Babysitting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, M/M, Promises, Robb Stark is a Gift, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 15:36:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7898263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IgnisEtGlacies13/pseuds/IgnisEtGlacies13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“How about I make a deal with you?” Theon said eventually. “If we ever see each other again –”</i><br/><br/><i>“<i>When</i> we see each other again,” Robb corrected. </i><br/><br/><i>Theon nodded. “When we see each other again, we’ll both be older than we are right now, and then we can get married. Is that okay?” </i><br/><br/>Or: Robb and Theon make a promise to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

 

When Robb Stark was eight years old, his parents hired a new babysitter.

He and his siblings had had a slew of babysitters over the years, most of them teenagers that preferred to watch TV or text their friends on their phone rather than play with them. Robb never liked them, and always tried to convince his parents that both he and Jon were eight and therefore old enough to look after Sansa, Arya, and Bran. But his parents had assured him that this new babysitter was different, a little closer in age to him and Jon, and had promised to spend the time playing with them.

Robb hadn’t believed them at first – he’d heard that line before – but then he met Theon Greyjoy.

Theon was thirteen, definitely younger than the usual sixteen-year-olds who babysat them. He didn’t text his friends while looking after them – when Robb asked him why, he muttered something about not having any – and he didn’t turn on the Starks’ television and ignore them. Instead, he played board games with him and Jon, he put on puppet shows with Sansa, he taught Arya how to spar with toy swords he crafted out of paper, and he read aloud Bran’s favourite stories.

Of course, he wasn’t perfect. He teased Jon to the point where Jon stormed away to his room in a huff, Sansa didn’t understand why he scoffed at the notion of true love, and Arya complained that he was always laughing at things that weren’t funny. But in Robb’s eyes, Theon _was_ perfect, and he wanted Theon to be his babysitter forever.

His parents knew how much he adored Theon. Robb gave Theon the pictures he drew in his spare time, the interesting rocks he collected from the playground, the stuffed toys he won from the theme park. So, one year later, when his parents had to tell Robb the bad news, they’d sat him down on his bed and broke it to him gently – but it hadn’t helped soften the blow.

Theon had arrived at seven o’clock that evening, and nodded goodbye at Ned and Catelyn Stark before helping Jon set up the movie they’d all unanimously voted to watch. Sansa and Arya raced to grab the best seat on the sofa as Bran crawled after them, and when Theon asked where Robb was, Jon shrugged and said he was in his room.

Frowning, Theon walked upstairs and had barely cracked Robb’s bedroom door open when Robb’s hand seized his wrist and dragged him inside.

Theon took one look at Robb’s tear-stained face and asked, “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

“Mom and Dad said you’re moving away and can’t be our babysitter anymore!” Robb exclaimed, desperately clutching at Theon’s hands. “But it’s not true, right? Tell me they were joking!”

Theon sighed. “I’m afraid they weren’t. My father only told me a few days ago that he’s moving his company headquarters to London.”

“But – but that’s on the other side of the ocean!” Robb burst out.

“Good to know you’ve been paying attention in school,” said Theon, smiling and trying for a joke.

It didn’t work. Robb sniffed audibly, wiping stray tears from his eyes, and Theon’s grin fell. Moving to sit at the edge of Robb’s bed, he patted the space beside him, and after a long moment Robb reluctantly complied.

Theon shifted closer until he could look Robb in the eye. “Look, kiddo, you’ll probably miss me for, like, less than a week. Your parents will find you guys a new babysitter and I bet you’ll like them just as much as me.”

Robb shook his head, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ve never liked any of the others. Besides, they wouldn’t be the same – they wouldn’t be _you._ ”

Theon was silent for several seconds and when Robb peeked at his face, he noticed Theon looked kind of flattered. Like he honestly thought Robb would forget about him after a few days, which Robb thought was completely stupid. The reason he liked Theon so much was because he was different from everyone else, and that wasn’t the sort of thing he ever forgot.

Theon cleared his throat. “Anyway, since I guessed you’d kick up a big fuss about me leaving –”

“I am not!”

“Yeah, you are,” said Theon, digging a hand into his pockets. “I thought I’d give you something, since you’re always giving stuff to me.”

He withdrew his hand, and Robb, curious, leaned forward. There was a small band of silver resting in Theon’s open palm, with one side twisted over like a pretzel and gleaming in the light of Robb’s lamp. The wave-like pattern engraved on the edges reminded Robb of the time he and his family went on vacation and visited the ocean for the first time.

“You’re giving that to me?” Robb had received a lot of gifts before, but something about the ring seemed extra special, as if it was worth more than anything he’d ever gotten.

“Yep.” Theon scratched the back of his neck, suddenly looking embarrassed. “It was my mom’s, actually – she passed it on to me, but knowing me I’d probably lose it or something, and I thought you’d like it.”

Robb gaped at him. “It was your _mom’s_ ring? I can’t take that –”

“Yes, you can,” said Theon firmly. It sounded like he’d expected Robb to argue with him and had prepared for it. “It doesn’t even fit on my finger because it’s too small, but it should fit on yours. For as long as you have tiny fingers, at least.”

Before Robb could protest any further, Theon took his hand and slipped the ring onto his index finger.

“See? It fits you.” Theon poked Robb in the shoulder. “No more arguing.”

Robb tilted his hand towards the light, admiring the way the ring seemed to shine with an inner light. “Fine,” he said in a choked voice. “I – thank you.”

Theon smiled softly and ruffled Robb’s hair as he stood up. “You’re welcome, kiddo. Now, why don’t we go join your siblings before the movie is over and they finish eating all the popcorn –”

“Wait,” Robb blurted, a thought suddenly occurring to him. “Since you gave me a ring, does that mean we’re married now?”

Theon’s eyes widened, and a strangled noise came from high in his throat. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Mom said Dad gave her a ring and then they were married,” said Robb, shrugging. “And it seems to work like that in movies, too.”

Theon chuckled. “It doesn’t exactly work like that, kiddo. Giving another person a ring doesn’t always mean they’re married.”

“But are we?” Robb asked insistently.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Why – don’t you think we’re both a little too young to be married?”

Robb shook his head. “People get married because they like each other a lot, right? I like you a lot, and you like me a lot. Why can’t we be married?”

“Marrying is a bit more than just liking the other person a lot, kiddo. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

That phrase. _You’ll understand when you’re older._ Robb had always disliked it, but now he hated it with every fibre of his being.

“But I want us to be married now,” he whined.

Theon bit his lip, staring at him uncertainly. Robb didn’t know why he was hesitating. It seemed so simple in his mind. Married people lived together for the rest of their lives. If he and Theon were married, they would live together forever and he would never have to worry about Theon leaving him.

“How about I make a deal with you?” Theon said eventually. “If we ever see each other again –”

“ _When_ we see each other again,” Robb corrected.

Theon nodded. “When we see each other again, we’ll both be older than we are right now, and then we can get married. Is that okay?”

Robb considered it. “Promise?”

“I promise,” vowed Theon, placing one hand over his heart.

Robb beamed. “Then it’s a deal.”

\---

A few days later, Theon moved away with his family, and Robb watched the Greyjoys’ car drive down the street and out of his life. He knew his parents were surprised to see him take the loss so well, considering his initial disappointment, but they didn’t know about the promise Theon made. Robb never told them, or his siblings, or any of his friends at school.

A few days after that, his parents hired a new babysitter. Osha was nice, and Bran loved her (so did Rickon, when he was born a year later), but she wasn’t Theon. In Robb’s eyes, no one could replace Theon, and he never became as close to her as he was with his former babysitter.

Despite Robb’s assurance that he would never forget about Theon, Theon was convinced that the memories of an eight-year-old would grow fuzzy over time, blurring faces and names until Theon and the promise he made was but a distant memory. But Robb always remembered, and even when the ring grew too small for his finger it still sat inside a box on his bookshelf, buried but never completely forgotten.

 


End file.
